Netjeru
The Netjeru '''(singular: netjer, feminine: netjeret) 'are the Egyptian deities of the Hourglass universe. They are ruled jointly by Horus and Ra, and are beings fixated on either order (''ma'at) or chaos (isfet). Valorous, harmonious, and extremely powerful, they are paragons of virtue. Overview The gods of the ancient Egyptians are descended from the god Ra, who arose from the waters of primeval Nun, self-formed and splendid. Several of his children are the manifestations of his own self, such as Shu (breath), Tefnut (saliva), Thoth (tongue), and Sekhmet/Hathor (eye). The children of Shu and Tefnut were Geb and Nut, or the earth and sky, and the children of Geb and Nut were Osiris, Isis, Horus the Elder, Nephthys, and Set. The god Osiris oversees the Underworld (or the Duat) from his heavenly kingdom of Aaru. Ra descends into the Duat every night to battle Apophis, the serpent deity of chaos, and his lackeys, ￼ultimately escaping his adversary but being reborn to start his journey again in the morning, carrying the Sun upon his barque to bring life to the world. Ra is assisted in the fight against Apophis by Set and Bastet, his daughter and the goddess of felines. The god Anubis oversees the Weighing of Hearts, which determines where the souls of the departed shall go, along with Thoth and the demoness Ammut. The just and benign souls are sent to Aaru while the malicious are devoured by Ammut and reborn as demons sent back to plague humanity. While Ra is seen as the traditional leader of the deities, Horus the Younger rules in all physical respects, having succeeded his father Osiris. Isis, his mother, managed to grant Osiris the throne by discovering Ra's true name and forcing him to step down. ￼ History The first of the netjeru was Ra, who was born from the surging waters of Nun. Despite being self-formed, he is often considered the son of Nun and Naunet (and sometimes Neith), the demiurges who ruled and personify Nun. Ra created his first two children, Shu and Tefnut, by his own first word (his true name, which summoned the island of benben ''from the waters), as Shu was the breath and Tefnut the saliva expelled from his lips. Ra's function as Father of the Gods was given its own persona, Atum-Ra , and his wife is listed as Iussaset, who is sometimes called Grandmother of the Gods. Shu and Tefnut came together and from their union came Geb and Nut, the personifications of the Earth and sky, respectively. Shu separated Geb and Nut as their passionate embrace ensured no life could prosper or even exist, as no space could be found. Thoth, the tongue of Ra and god of wisdom, took pity of Nut and aided her in the birth of her five children: Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Set, and Horus the Elder. Isis forced Ra to abdicate the throne after tricking him into revealing his true name, and placed her brother-husband Osiris upon it. Jealous of his brother, Set killed Osiris and installed himself as king. Isis, with the help of her sister Nephthys and Anubis (the bastard son of Osiris and Nephthys), was able to restore Osiris, but he would have to retire as lord of Aaru, a kingdom in the Duat. Isis' son Horus the Younger defeated Set and took the throne, taking Hathor (a daughter of Ra) as his wife and queen. In the present day, the gods have lost much of their prominence but their power is stronger than ever, working behind the scenes to ensure humanity doesn't fall prey to the darkness of Apophis and his forces. They have uneasy truces and relations with the other pantheons, but Anubis of Egypt and Hermes of Greece betray the stereotype as they show powerful brotherly love. Divine Form All of the netjeru have the ability to assume a divine form, which accentuates their own power and empowers other deities around them. Unlike the Greek deities, the divine forms of the Egyptians inspire humanity with valor and strength instead of killing them. A netjer's divine form typically is a large figure formed of a typical metal, mineral, or rock bathed in their individual aura, and topped with the head of the deity's sacred animal. For example, Anubis' divine form is made of basalt (with veins of emerald), with the head of a jackal, and surrounded by cerulean light. Members -The Ogdoad: * Nun and Naunet (Demiurges of Nothingness) * Kek and Kauket (Demiurges of Darkness) * Amun and Amaunet (Demiurges of Invisibility/Secrecy) * Huh and Hauhet (Demiurges of Infinity) -The Ennead/Great Pesedjet: * Ra (Primordial God of the Sun)* * Tefnut (Goddess of Moisture) * Shu (God of Air) * Geb (God/Personification of the Earth) * Nut (Goddess/Personification of the Sky) * Isis (Goddess of Maternity, Magic, Wisdom, Regality, and Feminity) * Nephthys (Goddess of Mourning) * Set (God of Storms, The Desert, Foreignity, and Violence) * Osiris (God of Agriculture and the Afterlife) *Horus the Elder, son of Geb and Nut, is sometimes counted across the Ennead (despite it being a grouping of nine) as he represents Ra at noon -Other Children of Ra: * Sekhmet (Goddess of War, Bloodshed, Vengeance, Poison, and Pestilence) * Hathor (Goddess of Love, Delight, Nurture, and Celebration) * Thoth (God of Wisdom and Linguistics) * Bastet (Goddess of Felines, Light, and Protection) * Serket (Goddess of Scorpions, Healing, Magic, and Medicine) * Mut (Goddess of Secrecy, Water, and Queenship) * Satet (Goddess of War, the Hunt, and Flooding) * Ma'at (Goddess of Truth, Justice, and Order) -Other Deities: * Neith (Primordial Goddess of War, Weaving, the Hunt, and Creation) * Ptah (Primordial God of Creation, Architecture, Craftsmanship, and the Forge) * Apophis (Primordial God of Chaos and Destruction) * Khnum (Primordial God of Pottery, the Nile, and Children) * Sobek (God of Water, Crocodiles, and Military Prowess) * Hatmehyt (Goddess of Fish, Water, and Rejuvenation) * Nekhbet (Mistress/Goddess of Upper Egypt) * Wadjet (Mistress/Goddess of Lower Egypt) * Anubis (God of Mummification and the Dead) * Khonsu (God of the Moon) * Seshat (Goddess of Linguistics, Astronomy, Astrology, Science, and Mathematics) * Nefertem (God of the Dawn and Lotuses) ''Ma'at ''and ''Isfet The word ma'at ''denotes total peace, harmony, order, justice, and virtue, and is sometimes represented as a goddess daughter of Ra. The Gods of Order, the followers of Ra, uphold the principles of ''ma'at ''to achieve and continue cosmic balance. The word is symbolized by a hieroglyph depicting an ostrich feather, and the feather itself is present on the headdress of the goddess Ma'at. ￼￼''Ma'at ''is opposed by ''isfet, the godly force of disharmony and destruction. The paragon of ''ma'at ''is Ra, whilst the paragon of ''isfet ''is Apophis, his brother (sometimes son) and archenemy. It is often said the snaky form of Apophis originates from Ra's own umbilical cord, or is borne from Neith's saliva that mixed with the waters of Nun. Death While the netjeru are immortal, they can die just as humans do, not of age, but of violence, such as in this cases of Ra and Osiris. While deities can kill other deities (Apophis vs. Ra, Set vs. Osiris), it must take a skilled group of lower beings to take down a god. Death is not permanent for Ra, as his wearied form (named Atum, the evening sun) is given to Nut, and reborn as Khepri, the scarab god of the morning sun. Osiris' death is ''technically ''not permanent either, but he is unable to leave Aaru and must reign there forever. The only god to have ever truly been defeated is Apophis, whose essence was absorbed by Set as he is the only deity able to handle such darkness and not be consumed by it. Greek Names As the Romans took the gods of the Greeks and gave them different names, the Greeks took the names of the Egyptian deities and changed them to suit their language. Some of the Greek names of the Egyptian gods are even used by that individual god. * Inpu = Anubis. Prefers Greek name. * Aset = Isis. Prefers Greek name. * Usir = Osiris. Prefers Greek name. * Heru sa Aset = Horus the Younger. Prefers Greek name. * Heru Wer/Ra-Herakhty = Horus the Elder/Haroeris. Unknown preference. * Hut Heru = Hathor. Prefers Greek name. * Nebet Hut = Nephthys. Prefers Greek name. * Ra = Helios. Prefers Egyptian name. * Sekhmet = Sachmis. Prefers Egyptian name. * Tehuti/Djehuty = Thoth. Prefers Greek name. * Tefnut = Tphenis. Prefers Egyptian name. * Set/Sutekh = Seth. Prefers Egyptian name. * Bastet = Ailuros. Prefers Egyptian name. * ￼Wadjet = Uto/Buto. Prefers Egyptian name. * Nit = Neith. Prefers Greek name. * Apep = Apophis. Prefers Greek name. * Satet = Satis. Prefers Egyptian name. * Sobek = Souchos. Prefers Egyptian name. * Khnum = Chnoumos. Prefers Egyptian name. * Atum = Saosis. Unknown preference. Trivia￼ * Many of the Egyptian deities each have a sacred animal which they can transform into. Sometimes, the appearance of the deities (such as the divine form) is topped with the head of this animal. * The netjeru participate in what human terms would define as incest, which the pharaohs and their families performed as well. The incestuous connotation can be lifted as the gods are said to lack DNA. * Many deities are labelled as "aspects" of one another, which is a motif also found in Hinduism. For example, Sekhmet, Hathor, and Bastet are all said to be aspects of each other; Ra finds multiple aspects in the form of Khepri, Ra-Herakhty, Atum, Ptah, and Khnum.